Systems, devices and methods for providing access to a distributed network

ABSTRACT

Systems and apparatus, and methods relating thereto, can be implemented to include base station having a transceiver adapted to establish a radio-frequency link with a mobile telephone; a first interface, separate from said transceiver, that is adapted for communication over the public Internet; and a controller. The controller can be adapted to obtain, from a server accessed via the public Internet, gateway address information for a remote gateway that provides an interface between the public Internet and a network of a telephone service provider and route data from the mobile telephone, over the public Internet, to the remote gateway.

PRIORITY CLAIMS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority from U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/181,543, titled “Systems, Devices andMethods for Providing Access to a Distributed Network”, filed on Jul.13, 2011, which is a continuation of and claims priority from U.S. Pat.No. 8,014,284, titled “Cellular Network System and Method”, issued Sep.6, 2011, which in turn is a national phase application ofPCT/IL2009/000438 filed on Aug. 12, 1999, all of which are herebyincorporated by reference into the present application in theirentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention concerns systems for creating cellular distributednetworks and methods for controlling their installation and operation.The invention concerns in particular add-on base stations that allow thecreation or expansion of such networks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Currently, it is relatively expensive, time consuming and difficult toinstall cellular networks. The network installation is especiallyproblematic in highly populated urban areas.

Cellular systems use base stations to establish an RF link between eachuser in the cell and the cellular wired network. These base stations usea relatively high transmit power, to overcome propagation losses inorder to achieve a reliable link. This high RF power, however, may beharmful to people nearby. Moreover, it may interfere with otherelectronic equipment. These may be part of the reasons why people objectto the installation of base stations in populated areas.

In highly populated areas there is a need for more base stations, moreclosely located to each other. As more users are to be served in aspecific area, the cells are made smaller, and more base stations haveto be installed.

Therefore, the objection of the public to the installation of additionalbase stations is a serious impediment to the development of a cellularnetwork.

Moreover, in highly populated areas the real estate is usuallyexpensive.

It requires a large investment to install base stations in these areasand to install the wiring as required.

Once the base stations are installed, it may be required to servicethem.

One can appreciate the high maintenance cost for a multitude of basestations located in a highly populated urban area.

Heretofore, a large distributed network required a plurality of largeswitchboards to make all the required connections. As the number ofcells and users increase, the number and complexity of switchboardsincreases as well.

There is a large number of concurrent calls that have to be supported.This further increases the cost of setting up and operating a cellularnetwork.

It is an objective of the present invention to facilitate theinstallation and expansion of distributed cellular networks, especiallyin highly populated urban areas.

Another problem in cellular systems is the relatively high transmittedpower of the mobile phones. The transmit antenna is close to the user'shead, and the RF radiation may have undesirable effects.

As the distance to a base station increases, the mobile transmitter hasto transmit at a higher power. Thus, from the radiation hazardviewpoint, it would be desirable to have more base stations, moreclosely related. This would allow transmission at lower power. There areproblems to adding base stations, however, as detailed above.

It is another objective of the present invention to achieve a reductionin the mobile phone transmit power, by using more base stations that aremore closely located to each other.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and methodthat facilitate the installation of distributed cellular networks,especially in developed and highly populated urban areas, using astructure and method implemented with an add-on base station. This mayalso allow the public at large to participate in providingtelecommunication services.

Basically, the system uses the existing infrastructure, for examplecable TV, Internet connections and phone networks to provide additionalwireless coverage.

According to the invention, the public can participate in providing thefunction of add-on base stations. These public-owned and public-operatedbase stations complement a cellular network, thus increasing the densityof base stations to provide better coverage with smaller cells.

A novel network structure allows the inclusion of these public-operatedbase stations within a distributed cellular network.

Call coordination means are used to control the operation of thenetwork.

A distributed network may incorporate the novel base stations within aconglomerate of cellular nets, wired telephone networks and an Internet.

A novel feature of the base station is an unique property of eachdevice. This allows its use as an add-on base station. In prior art,each phone had an unique identity, however the base stations had nounique properties. Each base station in prior art was distinguishedbased on its fixed location and wiring; there were no distinguishingmeans in the base station itself. In the novel approach according to thepresent invention, however, there are base stations that are add-onunits to be added to a network by various persons or firms.

The location of each such unit is not known a priori; its very existencehas to be announced to the network. A base station with an uniqueidentity allows the network to keep track of the addition of each newbase station.

Each novel base station includes means for providing an incentive to thepublic to acquire and operate them, so as to enhance the cellularnetwork. Using an economic incentive (for example, payment to the ownerof a base station for use of his/her device) will stimulate people tooperate these base stations. Thus, parts of the public will no moreobject to the installation of base stations. Rather, people willparticipate in the development of the cellular network.

According to another aspect of the invention, a payment system isdisclosed, that uses digital tokens or prepaid digital documents. Tokensmay be downloaded from a center, and the whole process may be madetransparent to the user.

Using a multitude of base stations, each for a small area, allows toreduce the transmit power of each station. Thus, people will no longerhave to worry about the harmful effects of RF radiation.

It may be easier to obtain licenses to operate base station that use alower transmit power.

Moreover, it is possible to achieve a reduction in the mobile phonetransmit power, by using more base stations that are more closelylocated to each other.

Furthermore in accordance with the invention, the object is basicallyaccomplished by using the existing telecommunication infrastructure thatis available in developed areas.

In these areas, there are available a large number of telephone lines aswell as Internet links. These telecommunication facilities are not usedall the time. Provided the right incentive, people will offer thesefacilities for other people's use in cellular links.

Heretofore, a large distributed network required a plurality of largeswitchboards to make all the required connections.

A novel approach uses a cellular coordination center that does notperform the actual call switching.

Rather, the new center just provides the information required for makinga call. Thus the workload on the center is greatly reduced. Smaller,simpler and lower cost switchboards may be used.

In some cases, the switchboards may be eliminated altogether.

A first user is given an Internet address of the other party and mayconnect it directly. This achieves a direct link from one base stationto another, through IP. It may also be possible to connect users throughthe same base station.

Prior art teaches how to connect two computers that are located at fixedlocations. The present invention discloses a structure and method forconnecting mobile units, using a center for coordinating the connection.

The technology in the present disclosure may be used for thetransmission of voice, data, multimedia or a combination thereof.

Further objects, advantages and other features of the present inventionwill become obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading thedisclosure set forth hereinafter.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described by way of example and with referenceto the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a distributed cellular network.

FIG. 2 details the functional structure of a novel base station.

FIG. 3 details another embodiment of the base station.

FIG. 4 illustrates the physical structure of a base station.

FIG. 5 details a cellular to cellular link.

FIG. 6 details a cellular to regular phone link.

FIG. 7 details a link to an IP phone.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described byway of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Some ofthe features in the example refer to voice transfer.

It is to be understood, however, that the technology in the presentdisclosure may be used for the transmission of voice, data, multimediaor a combination thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates a distributed cellular network providing, in thisexample, communications between a mobile user 11, a fixed user 12 and afixed user 13.

A communication network may include, for example, a cellular network 22,a telephone network 23 and an Internet network 24, all linked to eachother.

Throughout the present disclosure, Internet refers to any IP network,that may be for example the Internet or an Intranet.

User 11 is connected through a regular base station 21 to the cellularnetwork 22. Users 12 and 13 are each connected to the telephone network23 and an Internet network 24, respectively. Since all these networksare connected to each other, communication links may be provided betweenthe above users. The link to user 11 is wireless, whereas the link touser 12 is wired. The link to user 13 may be implemented with variousmeans.

An existing network may include, for example, an IP network, such as theInternet, or Internet over cables, or a wired telephone network. Voicecommunication may be conducted in a voice over IP method using a knowntechnology. Basically, the voice is digitized, sometimes compressed, andcut into packets of data.

The packets are sent over an IP network to their destination.

It is possible that some packets are lost during the routing, and thatthe packets are received in a different order. However, if not too manypackets are lost, the voice quality remains OK. A buffer is usuallyenough to compensate for the re-ordering of packets.

The above description refers to communications systems as known in theart.

The novel approach allows to expand the above network, for example withthe addition of new base stations 41, 42 and 43.

The add-on base stations 41, 42 and 43 illustrate three types ofadditions to a cellular network. These are three ways the public canparticipate in the network to enhance its capabilities.

Add-on base station 41 allows to connect a mobile user (not shown) tothe existing telephone network 23. The device includes a wireless linkwith an antenna to connect to a mobile user, and a wired link to connectto an existing communication network.

This base station may be owned and operated by an independent person ororganization. Once this device, the base station 41, is bought andoperated by its owner, it generates a wireless cell in its surroundings.The device will connect a mobile user in that cell to the telephonenetwork 23, and to any other network and/or user that may be connectedto network 23, either directly or indirectly.

Any person or firm or other entity that has a telephone line (aconnection to network 23) can buy an add-on base station 41 and connectit to the phone line, to create a new cell in the communication network.Thus, the public, on their own initiative, may add wireless cells to thenetwork.

Thus, our box achieves the function of a cellular base station in adistributed cellular network. It is also a micro-center for routingcalls, as detailed below.

The owner of the box connects it to an IP network to expand the existingcellular infrastructure—now a user can connect through the new basestation to an Internet, to establish a link with a remote user.

It is assumed that all new base stations are connected to an Internet,since it is in widespread use. A user may connect to an Internet invarious ways, for example using a telephone line, a cable TV channel,wireless links etc.

Possible Internet links include the package delivery link and the TCP.Voice links usually use the former link, since in the latter there maybe a delay.

In a highly populated area, where there are many phone lines and anumerous population, there is a great probability that many people willbuy the novel base stations to generate many new wireless cells.

Thus, new base station 41 adds a new wireless cell in a location wherethere is available a link to the telephone network 23 (a phone line).

Base station 42 illustrates another type of network enhancement. Itconnects between an Internet 24 and the telephone net 23. This allows aremote caller (not shown) to place a call to a phone in the neighborhoodof base station 42: That remote caller connects base station 42 over theInternet 24, and requires a connection to a phone close to that basestation.

This achieves a lower cost communication link, since it comprises anInternet link that is low cost, and a local phone call from base station42. It avoids the high cost of long distance phone calls. This type ofbase station is useful in the implementation of the present invention.

New base station 43 illustrates yet another type of network enhancement.It generates a wireless cell that is directly connected to an Internet24.

Thus, new base station 43 adds a new wireless cell in a location wherethere is available a link to an Internet network 24.

The system uses the existing infrastructure, for example cable TV,Internet connections and phone networks to provide additional wirelesscoverage. The above detailed structure and method may be used for othernetworks as well. These may include, among others, wireless links,satellite links, cable TV links, fiber-optics or a combination thereof.

Thus, new base stations 41, 42 and 43 allow to use the existingtelecommunication infrastructure in developed areas, to enhance thecellular network.

Private individuals or firms or other entities that have access toexisting communication channels and do not use those channels all thetime, may contribute to a cellular network by providing access to thosechannels. The novel system includes means to offer an incentive topeople, to motivate them to install and operate the base stations. Theseinclude means for collecting a payment for services rendered with thebase station.

Thus, it is possible to install or expand a cellular network without theneed for a large investment in infrastructure. Rather, the new networkis based on the existing infrastructure, for example a telephonenetwork, a wireless network, Internet or a combination thereof.

Usually, existing networks have spare capacity. A user does not speakall the time. Therefore, existing networks offer a great potential forexpansion, by supporting new cellular networks.

Prior art cellular systems are easier to install in sparsely populatedareas, where there is no problem of interference, base stationsinstallation etc. These systems are much more difficult to install intowns or other highly populated areas, where there are the problemscited above. The present invention solves the problem of cellularinstallation and achieves best performance in the densely populatedareas that were difficult to address in the past.

The very population that may have opposed to the cellular net, are nowhelping the setting up of the new cellular network.

According to the new concept, small cells are thus created in cities orother populated areas.

The maintenance cost is greatly reduced. The system operator is nolonger responsible for the maintenance of a multitude of base stationslocated in a highly populated urban area. Rather, each owner of aprivate base station is interested to keep his/her equipment in workingorder. If there is a problem, the owner will see to repairs or areplacement.

In a preferred embodiment, simple and low cost base stations are used,that are expendable—when a malfunction is detected in a base station,the unit is discarded and replaced with a new one.

The novel approach or method allows for a rapid deployment of a cellularnetwork. There is no time-consuming work to be done, to create a newinfrastructure from zero.

The new system does not need a plurality of large switchboards to makeall the required connections. In prior art systems, as the number ofcells increases, the number and complexity of switchboards increases aswell. There is a large number of concurrent calls that have to besupported. This adds to the cost of setting up and operating a cellularnetwork.

The new system, however, uses the switchboards in the existinginfrastructure for call switching. Therefore, there is no need to addcostly switchboards.

There is a need for a coordination center that issues informationrelating to completing a call as required. Alternately, a plurality ofcenters may be used. These centers only provide information prior to acall, and do not take part in the actual link being formed. Thus,simpler and lower cost centers are required.

This novel feature may achieve a large reduction in the investmentrequired to install or expand a cellular network.

The centers store information for each base station, including thetelephone number used by that station. This information may beadvantageously used to generate new links, to help one user to locate anIP base close to the desired destination.

The novel centers are also responsible for price setting, as determinedby an operator there. The information regarding prices of use of the netand the additional, private base stations, is disseminated as digitaldocuments encrypted so as to prevent tampering with.

The centers are also responsible for tracking down malfunctions in thecellular network. If a base station would not respond or would notoperate correctly, that information is brought to the attention of thecenter by related parties. The center will disseminate that information,to help user form communication links with reliable channels and basestations only.

The new centers may initiate calls to the various base stations, toverify their correct operation.

Thus, the new cellular centers correlate and guide the operation of theusers in the net, in real time.

Usually, a link will be formed with one switchboard at the source (theperson who initiated the call) and a switchboard at the destination.Additional switchboards are usually needed in between the aboveswitchboards. These are existing switchboards, that are part of theexisting infrastructure.

The cellular links thus formed may be used for various purposes, forexample to transmit voice or data.

A problem in a large network is the coordination of all the additions tothe cellular network. One can appreciate that a multitude of cells,provided by many people, may be difficult to use and would requirecomplex systems to route all the calls taking place concurrently.Usually, this would require a plurality of large switchboards to makeall the required connections.

A novel approach uses a cellular coordination center 3 that does notperform the actual call switching. Rather, the new center 3 justprovides the information required for making a call. Center 3 (or anetwork of such centers) stores information regarding the various basestations, their location and coverage, availability and connections.When a user places a call, he demands information from center 3. Center3 provides the required information for placing a call, including a basestation close to the desired destination and more, as detailed below.

After providing the information to the caller, center 3 does notparticipate in the actual call routing; rather, this is performed by thecaller, using the existing network infrastructure.

Thus the workload on the center 3 is greatly reduced. Smaller, simplerand lower cost switchboards or cellular coordination centers may beused.

In some cases, the switchboards may be eliminated altogether.

A first user is given an Internet address of the other party and mayconnect it directly. This achieves a direct link from one base stationto another, through IP. It may also be possible to connect users throughthe same base station.

The phones of the network are basically similar to existing cellularhandsets, except minor changes as detailed below.

Regarding the base stations: In prior art cellular networks, theswitchboards are always necessary in order to connect between cellularphones.

In the new system, communications may take place between cellular phoneswithout the intervention of switchboards. This may result in faster,more effective communications.

Add-on base stations can be installed and owned by the cellular networkoperator, but in a preferred embodiment, the base stations are sold withthe cellular phone, or without it, to anyone—private persons or firmsfor example.

People will have an incentive to connect the base station in theirhome/office, since they will get royalties from the cellular networkoperator.

Preferably, the size and shape of an add-on base station is similar tothat of a cordless telephone base. This may achieve an easy to usedevice, whose operation is familiar to the user.

Structure and Operation of the Cellular Center 3

Unlike presently used cellular centers, the center 3 of the novelnetwork does not need to carry the role of a switchboard. Existingswitchboards in a cellular or phone system may be used as usual, as wellas regular IP routing. The new center 3 coordinates the operation of thenew base stations like 41 and 43 as illustrated.

The duties of the cellular centers 3 include, among others: a) Networkintegration and planning, b) Implementing a price policy, c) Networkoperability, d) Manager of phone locator. (In case of incoming calls).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

a) The Cellular center 3 knows the current physical location of alladd-on base stations, and is aware of the status of each base station(i.e. is available or not available, optionally processing a call etc.).

There may be a trade-off between the desire to keep the center updated,and the need not to overload it. If too high a frequency of reporting tothe center is used, this may achieve a center that is updated to thelast minute changes, however a large expensive center may be required.

Alternately, it is possible to limit the rate of updates and the type ofevents that require a report to center. The center does not have to knowof any minute change in a base station.

For example, if a base station is busy, but the center is not aware ofit, the user may use an alternative base station.

b) The cellular center is responsible for the price policy.

It determines and publishes the cost for each operation over thenetwork. The updated information may be transferred over an Internet, ormay be available to add-on base stations.

The information may be dispersed between units in the network. In eachtransaction, the parties thereto will check the date of each price list.The more updated price list will be transferred to the other party.Thus, the new price list or policy will gradually expand throughout thenetwork.

c) The cellular center is responsible to actively check, once in awhile, the availability of base stations and their operability (see ifthey work properly).

d) One of the main tasks of the cellular center is to give the function:when given a “cellular phone number”, it is able to return the IPaddress of a base station, that has radio contact with it. Alternately,it may return a message that the phone is in the “out of coverage area”.

A call processing method is detailed below with reference to FIGS. 5, 6and 7.

Data Security

Each phone, base station and the cellular center 3 may have their owndigital certificate, which binds a cryptographic public key, with anidentifier.

The certificate may also contain information such as their phone numberor identity. The extra information can also be included in otherdigitally signed digital documents.

In this way the packets of voice originating from the phone, can beencrypted by the destination public key to the other phone, ensuringprivacy. They can also (or alternatively) signed by the originator'sprivate key, to ensure authentication (and possibly non-repudiation).

A phone user may require that all incoming or outgoing calls beauthenticated and/or encrypted.

The control channel includes the information exchanged between basestations, phones and/or centers.

The control channel can be encrypted at the base stations, the centersand/or the phones.

The phone can send back to the base station the necessary changes (suchas a cell change). The communication between the phone and its basestation can also be encrypted.

It is possible to preserve the anonymity of the caller and theaddressee, using the following method:

A. A caller sends a request to connect to a specific addressee, using amessage encrypted with the public key of a center 3. The message alsoincludes the identification of the caller.

Nobody can read this message, since it is encrypted.

B. the center decrypts the message, identifies the caller and theaddressee.

C. the center composes a message for the addressee and encrypts it withthe public key of the addressee. The message is then sent to basestations that may be in contact with that addressee.

The actual policy in use may vary from network to network. A search pathmay be followed, according to information from past activity forexample.

D. the base station transmits the message “as is” or in a modified form.

In any case, the encrypted section is preserved—the base station andother phones in the area will not know who is the caller and who is theaddressee.

E. only the designated addressee will be capable to decrypt the message,and will be thus notified of the attempted connection. Other phones,that do not possess the required private key, will not be able todecrypt the message, and will thus know that the message was notaddressed to them.

F. if the addressee decides to answer the call, he sends a responsemessage, encrypted with a known public key—for example that of thecenter, or may ask the base station to reply to that call.

G. the center sends a message to the caller, with information to allowhim to implement the connection with the addressee.

In another embodiment of the invention, the addressee may contactdirectly the caller.

The above method preserves the anonymity of the caller and theaddressee. Although the communication may pass through variousswitchboards and base stations, none will know the identity of theparties to the conversation, except the cellular center. The center mayknow about the inquiry, but it will not know whether a communicationactually did take place between the parties involved.

The subsequent dialog or data transfer may be en clair; it is believedthat the identity of the parties to a communication may be moreimportant than the actual information being transferred. Thus, for aneavesdropper the dialog itself may be meaningless if the identity of theparties involved is kept secret.

Thus, all the cellular phones are open and continuously receive thevarious messages transmitted from a base station in step (D) above. Themessages decryption takes computer power, so that it may waste thebattery power.

To save on battery, the phones may be divided into a predefined numberof groups, for example 1,000 groups. The message to a phone may includea short header that indicates the addressee group. This is a shortnumber that is easy to decrypt; a telephone will decrypt the wholemessage only if the header of the message corresponds to the group ofthat phone.

To improve security, the cellular center 3 may accept a request tolocate phones (locate nearest IP) only from base stations. The basestations that help to locate a phone, (or the phone itself) may do soonly if requested by the cellular center, or by some other authorizedentity.

Thus, in step (B) the center checks the authorization of the caller tosent the request; only if the caller is authorized, then the center willproceed to execute step (B); otherwise go to step (H). The authorizationmay be checked using authorization tables kept at the center for thatpurpose.

The above means help achieve privacy in a distributed network—itprevents a user's location from being divulged to others.

The cellular center 3 can issue a certificate (an operating license) oranother digital document, to the effect that “this phone/base station ispart of my network and is in working order” to all the devices connectedthereto. The certificates may have a short expiration date, of 1 day forexample. This gives the center 3 control over the phones and basestations, that may be disconnected at short notice.

This allows a phone to ask the services of a base station only if it hasan updated operating license. Similarly, a base station can verify thatthe phone is operating properly.

This is one way that a cellular center can exclude “badly behaving”devices from the network. Devices may be otherwise disconnected orexcluded for other reasons, as programmed into the center's operatingprogram.

Billing

An important aspect of the present invention is the means for paying tothe owner of the add-on base station for his/her services. This providesthe incentive for acquiring and operating these base stations.

Since the sessions are encrypted, the payment process can be performedin a way similar to that used with smart cards in prior art. Anencrypted session is akin to a point to point, secure link.

Thus, the base station includes means for accepting a payment and fordisplaying to the user information relating to the payments received.

Using encryption and digital documents, it is possible to reliablyimplement the payment method as detailed in the present disclosure,while preventing impostors or others who may present false paymentmeans. This may help prevent stealing of calls, that is a problem inpresent systems.

Further means to prevent calls stealing is the caller ID and destinationID. That is, in the novel system both the identity of the caller and thedestination may be known. This may prevent or intimidate a potentialthief, who may know that his actions will be recorded and detected.

A possible method of billing is by way of money or tokens.

Digital documents may be used that correspond to cash money or to acredit or right to use the network at someone's expense, or mayrepresent phone tokens having a specific monetary value each.

These documents may be encrypted or signed so as to allow the owner ofthe base station to receive payment for services rendered.

The phone may download tokens or money from the center or from a plasticcard or a smart card or by other means. These payment means may bestored in the phone for subsequent use.

When originating a call, or otherwise as stated in the cellular centerpolicy, the phone would send tokens to the base stations in the way tothe other phone.

In this way he pays for the session on-line and in real time.

The center can profit since for a certain amount of money it will give acertain amount of tokens (and take its profit).

Base stations receive payment, and can later redeem the tokens from thecellular center back to money, or receive new tokens for their ownerinstead, for the owner's use in his/her communications over theircellular phone. Redeem of the tokens is a preferred embodiments, sincein this method the center's profit is assured.

The billing policy can be written digitally by way of a digitaldocument, with a date (and a short expiry date), signed by the cellularcenter. This policy would be stored in all base stations and phones, andthey set the prices (by means of tokens) that the phones pay.

When two units interact, they can compare the time stamps or the versionof the policy held by each unit. Thus the policy is updated as necessaryand there would not be any dispute between the parties.

The information may be dispersed between units in the network. In eachtransaction, the parties thereto will check the date of each price list.The more updated price list will be transferred to the other party.Thus, the new price list or policy will gradually expand throughout thenetwork.

The billing unit can be a “black box” inside each apparatus. This blackbox can be tamper-free, including means to destroy its contents ordelete the information therein, if someone tries to tamper with it. Thisensures that it can be trusted to work under commands given in policydocuments.

The billing unit may be implemented as part of a call controller 54 inthe base station, see FIG. 2.

In another embodiment, the black box function may be contained within asmart card.

The above structure and method may be either used to enhance an existingcellular system or to create a new cellular system altogether.

FIG. 2 details, by way of example, the functional structure of a novelbase station (like base station 41, 42 or 43 of FIG. 1).

The basic function of the station is to connect a first channel 51 witha second channel 52. Either channel may be wired or wireless, usingvarious technologies.

The channel electronic means 53 implements the actual communications toconnect between the channels 51 and 52. A call controller 54 supervisesand controls the operation of means 53, according to commands receivedfrom a user through the control inputs 541 for the base station.

A billing processor 55 computes the fee or payment the base stationowner is entitled to, according to the amount of traffic on the channels51, 52, and the method or policy as set in the billing document.

Thus, as more communication services are provided to the public, theowner of the base station will receive a larger fee accordingly.

A display 56 may be used to display the payment due or payment receivedfor the calls placed by other users.

A novel feature of the base station is a unique property in each device.This unique property may be stored, for example, in either the callcontroller 54 or the billing processor 55.

This unique property allows to use the base station as an add-on device.In prior art, each phone had an unique identity, however the basestations had no unique properties. Each base station in prior art wasdistinguished based on its fixed location and wiring; there were nodistinguishing means in the base station itself.

In the novel approach according to the present invention, however, thereare base stations that are add-on units to be added to a network byvarious persons or firms. The location of each such unit is not known apriori; its very existence has to be announced to the network. A basestation with an unique identity allows the network to keep track of theaddition of each new base station. The unique identity helps manage theexpanding network.

Various means may be used to achieve the unique identity of each add-onbase station. For example, an unique number may be stored in memorymeans in units 54 or 55. Alternately, a digital document may be storedtherein. A smart card with an unique number or document may be insertedin the base station to activate it.

A plurality of users may be served using wideband channels having thecapability to serve several users at once. For example, channel 51 maybe a wireless channel capable of communicating with several users usingTDMA or FDMA or CDMA. Channel 52 may be an Internet connection capableof connecting to several destinations simultaneously.

Alternately, more than two channels may be used. This may allow a basestation to concurrently communicate with more users and/or networks.

It is also possible to have other types of channels, for example wiredphone lines.

FIG. 3 details another embodiment of the base station. The RF channelincludes an antenna 61 and an RF unit 62. The main box 63 includes theelectronics for connecting the RF channel to the phone line connection64 and the IP connection 65.

In a preferred embodiment, the phone line connection 64 is optional.

An add-on base station may only include the RF channel (to connect to amobile user in a cellular wireless system) and the IP connection 65. Thebase station may also be connected to an optional source of electricalpower.

The size of the base station can be not larger than a regular cellularphone. It has the following components: a) Main box, b) IP connection,c) antenna, d) phone line connection.

Some of the above components may be optional, as required for thedesired function as an add-on to a cellular network.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of the physical structure of a novelbase station, including a cellular phone 71 and a base 72. A connector721 is used to connect the two devices.

The owner may use the cellular phone as usual, to communicate asdesired. When not in use, he/she may insert the phone 71 into the base72 to form a base station: the phone 71 communicates with mobile users,and the base 72 is connected to wired networks through a phone lineconnection 64 and/or an IP connection 65. The device may further includemains power connection 722.

This system requires a modified phone, that has a capability to operateas a base station, both in transmit and receive modes. In cellularsystems, the mobile phones transmit in a first frequency band andreceive in a second frequency band, whereas the base station transmitsin the second frequency band and receives in the first band.

Thus, a cellular phone cannot communicate directly with another phone.Accordingly, in the present invention, the phone 71 includes means fortransmitting and receiving in the way used by base stations when it actsas a relay station.

Moreover, the phone 71 further includes means for transmitting andreceiving control signals as required in a cellular network, toestablish a communication link with a mobile phone and control thatcommunication. The control signals may include, for example, powercontrol, link establishment and disconnection. The control signals arespecific to each cellular network like GSM, AMPS, CDMA etc.

The phone 71 may include means for performing one cellular link at atime, or it may include means for communicating at once with severalmobile phones. In the latter case, it will function as a base stationfor several mobile phones located in its surroundings.

The above description refers to one embodiment, where the RF link isimplemented with a modified cellular phone 71.

In another embodiment (see FIGS. 2 and 3), no cellular phone is used toimplement the RF link with other phones. Rather, a complete base stationincludes all the RF transmit and receive means to allow it tocommunicate with a mobile cellular phone. The base station may includemeans to allow it to concurrently communicate with several mobilephones.

Furthermore, the base station may include means for charging a batteryin the cellular phone. Thus, as the phone is inserted in the base, itsbattery is charged and concurrently the phone may be also used to expanda cellular network.

FIG. 5 details a cellular to cellular link that may be implemented overthe system as illustrated in FIG. 1.

A link may be established between a first (mobile) user 11 and a second(mobile) user 14. User 11 communicates with new base station 43, that isconnected to an Internet network 24.

User 14, who is located in another area, communicates with new basestation 44, that is also connected to an Internet network 24. Thus, acommunication link is established between users 11 and 14 through the IPnetwork 24. This is a low cost, fast link.

A Call Processing Method

Following is detailed a method for conducting a cellular to cellularcall over the network.

A. The phone 11 which is initiating the call, is accessing the nearestbase station 43 by means of radio communication.

It identifies and requests a (voice) connection to the other phonenumber 14. The number may be either en clair or encrypted. For anencrypted session—see details in the “Data Security” section.

B. The base station 43 then contacts the cellular center 3 (see FIG. 1),asking the IP address of the nearest station 44 to the destination phonenumber 14.

C. There are several possibilities:

C1. The cellular center 3 returns an answer, that the destination is notavailable.

In this case either the base station 43 is notifying the requestingphone 11 of the situation, or the center returns an alternate IPaddress.

The alternate IP address can be the destination voice mail, or arecorded message, for example: “The phone you have reached is notavailable right now, please try later.”

It is also possible that the IP indicates a link to advanced services,such as “follow me” etc.

C2. The destination is available. In this case, it is possible that thereturn answer would come either directly from the base station 44 thatis in contact with the phone 14, or be returned by the center 3.

In case an IP was returned, the base station 42 contacts the destinationstation over the network, and “calls” the phone 14.

If the phone 14 is taken off the hook, then packets of voice areexchanged between the base stations, and are forwarded from and to thephones 11 and 14, so that a phone session is established.

In case the phone 14 refused the call, the originator base station 43can try to locate the phone again through the center, or ask to see ifthere is a voice mail IP from the center. The phone 14 refusing the callcan also state another IP or number where it may be contacted, or avoice mail.

To preserve the privacy of the addressee, the phone 14 may ask thecenter not to disclose its refusal. Rather, the center may announce thecaller that the addressee is not available.

Moving Between Cells (Base Stations)

Let us assume that a mobile phone has a link with a first base station.It may happen, during the conversation, that the phone detects that itreceives the first base station at a low power, that is at a power lowerthan a predefined threshold.

In that case, a program in the phone may run a background search for analternate base station. If it finds a second base station at a higherreceived power, then the phone will ask it to continue the call. It willsend packets from the new station, and try to inform the old station ofthe change.

Alternately, the new base station can inform the old base station of thetransfer of the call to it.

The other party's base station is informed by the phone or by the basestation of the new IP address of new base station.

Thus the link is disconnected from the first base station and a newconnection is established with the second base station, to improve thequality of the link. It is assumed that a higher received powerindicates a link with an improved communication quality.

Locating Base Stations

After a base station was bought by a person or entity, a stage ofactivating the base station is to be performed. The device is activatedwhen it is connected to and integrated within the cellular network.

The location of base station can be made known to the cellular center 3using various methods. Several ways are detailed below by way ofexample.

1. During the registration of a base station, the person that registersthe base station would state its location. 2. If the base station isconnected to a phone line, its location can be found automatically fromthe number it is connected to. 3. The station can “listen” totransmissions from other base stations nearby (whose location is alreadyknown), and forward the information regarding the identity of receivedbase stations and the power level of each such reception to the cellularcenter. Using this information, the cellular center can estimate thelocation of the new base station. 4. Nearby stations (which are alreadyknown in the system) can listen to a beacon or transmission from the newstation and thus its location can be estimated. 5. A low-cost GPS device(with or without earth radio corrections) can be inserted into thebase-stations, so that it would know and report its location.

Method for Locating the Destination Base IP

There are several methods to locate a phone.

1. This can be done in a similar fashion to what is done at present.Since the cellular center knows the location of base stations, it canstart a search for the phone from the last place it was known to be.

2. Otherwise, the phone could be “paged” over paging channels, and thephone would reply to the nearest base station, and this reply would beforwarded by that base station to the cellular center.

3. A phone may be required to send a beacon once in a while to thenearest base station, so that the center may know its location.

4. The network may be divided into geographical zones. A city may be azone, for example. The phone may be required to announce the center whenit crosses the boundaries of zones.

Methods for achieving data security and for billing were detailed above.

Secure means as detailed in the “Data Security” section above may beused, to preserve the anonymity of the caller and the addressee. Onlythe cellular center will know the identity of the parties to aconversation. Even the center will not know whether the conversationactually took place.

FIG. 6 details a cellular to regular phone link. A link is establishedbetween a first (mobile) user 11 and a second (fixed) user 12. User 11communicates with new base station 43, that is connected to an Internetnetwork 24.

User 12, who is located in another area, is connected to the existingtelephone network 23.

A new base station 42 connects (bridges) between an Internet network 24and the existing telephone network 23, wherein the point of entry to thetelephone network 23 is preferably in a location close to that of user12, so as to achieve a local, or low cost, phone link. Thus, basestation 42 achieves a low cost connection between users 11 and 12.

A cellular center 3 (see FIG. 1) may direct user 11 to a base stationthat is close to the call destination (to user 12).

A Call Processing Method—Cellular to Regular Phone

Following is detailed a method for conducting a cellular phone to aregular phone call over the network.

The conversation goes the same as illustrated above for the cellular tocellular link with reference to FIG. 5, however the center 3 will notreturn the IP of the base station nearest the destination phone. Rather,the center 3 calculates the nearest base station 42 to the destinationphone number 12 and give its IP.

That station 42 is the one that is connected to the phone system 23, andhas agreed to process calls for the cellular system.

The originator base station 43 would connect to the base station 42,which would act as a gateway station.

The line module in the gateway station 42 will play the role of acellular phone. The phone conversation can be encrypted up to thegateway station.

A Call Processing Method—Regular Phone to Cellular

Several methods may be used to implement such a call.

1. If there is cooperation with a telephone company, the cellular center3 can inform it of the phone numbers of all the base stations 42 thathave agreed to be a gateway station.

The regular phone user can dial a number with a special prefix, and thecall would be routed to the nearest gateway station 42 whose line isavailable.

The gateway station can know of the destination by means of caller ID,DTMF, other digital way, or that the caller would get another tonesignal from the gateway station, and could dial the rest of the numberby DTMF identification.

2. Otherwise, it is believed that the telephone company will show atleast a measure of cooperation, to the effect that it will contact thecaller to the nearest gateway station number. Then, the dialing can becompleted with the gateway station identifying the DTMF from the caller.

Since we assume many people will use the new cellular system, it is areasonable assumption that there will be a gateway station available inthe same telephone switchboard of the destination phone, so the callwould be local.

3. If there is no cooperation from the telephone company, a 1-800 numbercan be set up, so that someone could find the nearest gateway stationnear him.

In other words, the caller would have to call directly to some gatewaystation, and continue dialing from there, by DTMF for example. Thegateway may provide a dial tone to assist this dialing. The gateway mayuse automatic DTMF recognition for that purpose.

The gateway base station in this case is playing the caller phone to thenetwork. It may also add information such as called ID.

Billing in this case is by the receiver phone, or otherwise as set bypolicy of the cellular center. It is possible that the caller would payfor the tokens, if the phone company bills him for their cost, and sendsthat amount to the cellular center. This enables the base stations tobill the cellular center later, if it is by prior agreement.

FIG. 7 details a link to an IP phone. A first (mobile) user 11 mayconnect to a second (fixed IP phone) user 13.

User 11 may connect either through base station 41 or base station 43.The new base station 43 is directly connected to an Internet network 24.The new base station 41 connects (bridges) between the cellular user 11and the existing telephone network 23, which is connected to Internet24.

A Call Processing Method—from an IP Phone

Since calls are already over the IP network, people may prefer to usethe IP network as their main phone network.

Special apparatus could be made to play the part of base station andphones, all in a regular phones case.

Otherwise, this may be done with PCs with software and with or withouthardware (possibly a smart card—to do all the black box part).

Communication to/from an IP phone is the same as regular cellularphones, if implemented in this way, and can also be as outside phoneswhich contact a base station that agreed to act as an IP gateway.

Remarks

Various embodiments of the present invention are possible. Following areseveral examples.

1. It is possible to create centers of access to the system, which maycontain an array of base stations that will function as gatewaystations. It is also possible to build antenna towers in areas far fromurban areas such as roads.

2. It is possible to include relay option means in cellular phones, insuch way that if a phone is far from a cell, but there is an other phonein the way that receives both, it can act as a relay.

This structure is better suited for car phones. It can be also used inhandheld phones.

Tokens can be also paid to the relay station that takes part in acommunication link.

3. Large systems can be subdivided into smaller systems or by locationor by country or another geographical criterion. Connection betweenthose systems can also be done by IP means, if desired.

4. The add-on base stations may be installed in various vehicles. Thismay achieve cellular coverage in areas that may otherwise not becovered. The device may include means to install in a vehicle, includinguse of an installed antenna and the power source in the car.

Thus, parked cars may be used as relay stations, with a cellular phoneinstalled in the car acting as an add-on base station.

5. The mobile base stations may include wireless means to connect toeach other. A linked channel may thus be achieved, with the basestations acting as relay stations. This may allow communications wherethe fixed base stations are far apart from each other. This structureallows for a link between moving cars.

6. The add-on base stations may allow surfing an Internet. To achievethis, the base may include communication means for data, voice and/ormultimedia. Any type of information may be transferred.

7. The system may be used for encrypted E-mail. An advantage of thepresent system is that the identity of the parties to that E-mailcorrespondence are kept secret from the base stations and other factorsin the net. Only the center knows the identity of the parties to theE-mail.

The technology may also be used in E-commerce. It preserves the privacyof the parties to a transaction.

8. The system may use a cellular center to coordinate the connectionsbetween users. Alternately, a distributed center network may be used.

Advantages 1. Lower Radiation Base Stations

Since cellular cells (each base station) may be quite close to eachother, the cellular cells can be small, and reduce the transmissionpower needed for the base stations, resulting in lower radiation.

2. Lower Radiation Mobile Phones

Since base station are closer, the distance from a mobile phone to abase station is shorter. Thus, the mobile phone may transmit at a lowerpower.

3. Low Cost Deployment

There is no need for a new infrastructure. That is achieved with lowcost base stations, that can be mass produced.

Since people may put these low radiation stations in their homes oroffices, there may be no need for licenses from authorities to installthese devices. There may be no need to ask for a license to install ahigh power transmitter or a large antenna.

Since routing may be done for example by IP routing, there is no needfor large switchboards. Actually there may be no need for ANYswitchboard. Only computers that connect to the network are required, toact as the cellular centers.

There is no need for highly trained personnel to deploy the network.

4. Quick, No Hassle Deployment

Since the system is using existing infrastructure, there is only need toput and connect base stations, which ordinary people can do themselves,just like connecting a wireless phone, the deployment is rapid, withoutthe need to construct and install large antennas.

5. Lower Cost of Operation

There is no need to take care of a large infrastructure and itsoverhead, like switchboards, carrier lines, etc.

There is no need for personnel or highly trained personnel to manage thenetwork. Since the equipment is so cheap, it can be just replaced.

6. Cheap Air-Fare

Since the overall cost is low, the prices for the end user can be low,and the possibility to earn money from base stations, may be anincentive. Also, as described, connections to/from regular phone systemmay be done as local calls. Therefore, there is additional savings inpayment to phone companies.

It will be recognized that the foregoing is but one example of anapparatus and method within the scope of the present invention and thatvarious modifications will occur to those skilled in the art uponreading the disclosure set forth hereinbefore.

1. A base station comprising: a transceiver adapted to establish aradio-frequency link with a mobile telephone; a first interface,separate from said transceiver, that is adapted for communication overthe public Internet; and a controller adapted to: obtain, from a serveraccessed via the public Internet, gateway address information for aremote gateway that provides an interface between the public Internetand a network of a telephone service provider; and route data from themobile telephone, over the public Internet, to the remote gateway. 2.The base station of claim 1 wherein the data from the mobile telephonecomprises call data for a voice call.
 3. The base station of claim 2wherein the voice call is routed to a second telephone using an Internetaddress associated with the second telephone.
 4. The base station ofclaim 1 wherein the controller transmits a periodic update to the servervia the public Internet.
 5. The base station of claim 1 wherein thecontroller is adapted to determine and report geographical location datafor the base station to the server via the public Internet.
 6. The basestation of claim 5 wherein the controller is adapted to determine thegeographical location data for the base station using a GPS device. 7.The base station of claim 5 wherein the controller is adapted to detecttransmissions from other base stations and to report an identity andreceived signal level of transmissions from the other base stations. 8.The base station of claim 1 wherein the base station is connected to thepublic Internet via a wired connection and the base station is adaptedto communicate cellular network control signals with the mobiletelephone.
 9. A system comprising: a server adapted for communicationover the public Internet with a plurality of base stations; a pluralityof base stations, with each base station including: a transceiveradapted to establish a radio-frequency link with a mobile telephone; afirst interface, separate from said transceiver, that is adapted forcommunication over the public Internet; a controller adapted to: obtain,from the server via the public Internet, gateway address information fora remote gateway that provides an interface between the public Internetand a network of a telephone service provider; and route data from themobile telephone, over the public Internet, to the remote gateway. 10.The system of claim 9 wherein the data from the mobile telephonecomprises call data for a voice call.
 11. The system of claim 10 furthercomprising the gateway between the public Internet and the network of atelephone service provider, wherein the gateway routes the call data forthe voice call received over the public Internet to the network of thetelephone service provider for communication to a destination telephone.12. The system of claim 9 wherein the controller transmits a periodicupdate to the server via the public Internet.
 13. The system of claim 9wherein the controller is adapted to determine and report geographicallocation data for the base station to the server via the publicInternet.
 14. The system of claim 13 wherein the controller is adaptedto determine the geographical location data for the base station using aGPS device.
 15. The system of claim 13 wherein the controller is adaptedto detect transmissions from other base stations and to report anidentity and received signal level of transmissions from the other basestations.
 16. The system of claim 13 wherein the server is adapted toactivate the base station in response to receiving the geographicallocation data.
 17. The system of claim 9 wherein the server periodicallyverifies operation of each base station.
 18. The system of claim 9wherein communications between the server and each base station areencrypted using a cryptographic key associated with the base station.19. The system of claim 9 wherein the server provides an authorizationfor each base station to route data to the telephone service providernetwork.
 20. The system of claim 9 wherein the server is adapted todisconnect selected base stations.
 21. The system of claim 9 whereineach base station is adapted to route data to the remote gateway from aplurality of mobile telephones using a multiple access technology.
 22. Asystem comprising: a server adapted for communication over the publicInternet with a plurality of base stations; a plurality of basestations, with each base station including: a transceiver adapted toestablish a radio-frequency link with a mobile telephone; a firstinterface, separate from said transceiver, that is adapted forcommunication over the public Internet; and a controller adapted to:route data from the mobile telephone over the public Internet to aremote gateway to a network of a telephone service provider; and reportgeographical location data for the base station to a server on thepublic Internet.
 23. The system of claim 22 wherein the data from themobile telephone comprises call data for a voice call.
 24. The system ofclaim 22 wherein the server provides an authorization for each basestation to route data to the telephone service provider network.
 25. Thesystem of claim 22 wherein the controller is further adapted todetermine the geographical location of the base station and thegeographical location data reported by the controller for the basestation identifies the determined geographical location.
 26. The systemof claim 25 wherein the controller is adapted to determine thegeographical location for the base station using a GPS device.
 27. Amethod comprising: establishing a radio-frequency link between a mobiletelephone and a radio-frequency transceiver of a base station; reportinga geographical location of the base station via a first interface,separate from said transceiver, that is adapted for communication overthe public Internet to a server on the public Internet; and routing datafrom the mobile telephone over the public Internet to a remote gatewayto the network of a telephone service provider.
 28. The method of claim27 wherein the data from the mobile telephone comprises call data for avoice call.
 29. The method of claim 27 further comprising determiningthe geographical location of the base station based on transmittedsignals received at the base station.
 30. The method of claim 27 furthercomprising transmitting a periodic update from the base station to theserver via the public Internet.